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Eagles Of Death Metal: Heart On

I didn’t want to review this album. I didn’t like their first two albums, so I wasn’t very excited about there third. But then Ipecac went and released the vinyl version and I felt obliged.

In the meantime there was Bataclan, which has to be the most publicity Eagles Of Death Metal have ever received. Honestly, I was somewhat impressed they were big enough to be the target of a terrorist attack. And then, oh boy, and then…. Lead singer Jesse Hughes blamed the incident on France’s tight gun laws, I guess because the lax gun laws in the United States are so successful at preventing mass violence. Apparently the guy’s been a nutter for a while, hates Muslims, and supports Trump, and maybe this horrible thing just pushed him beyond the pale.

And it was actually after that happened that I realized I was going to have to review this. I can’t say the guy’s despicable comments (check out that link, he accuses Bataclan security for being in on it, and, to be fair, issues a very good apology later for same comments) didn’t affect my opinion of the album. But I don’t think it’s very good.

This is basically the same as EoDM’s last two albums. They put together some good riffs, but the sound is as thin as Hughes himself and they have a really hard time putting together entire songs. There’s what seems like a cheekiness in the lyrics and the ‘tude, but then given Hughes’ general weirdness you just can’t tell. Whether serious or a gag, though, it doesn’t come off well. I mean, the world didn’t need another song about masturbation, cheeky or not, but here EoDM are with “Solo Flights” singing the praises of self pleasure and oh god it was somewhat outrageous when The Divinyls did it 20 years prior but Jesus Christ, yeah, we all love jerking off.

From memory, ‘cuz there’s no way I’m going to go back and listen to them, this is a bit better than the band’s first two albums, maybe a lot better. I mean, I can kind of stand like a third of it. And I was able to find my old review of Death By Sexy…, and it got 1.5 [clowns], so there’s a little more evidence for the band getting better over time.

Still, that third I enjoy rarely consists of entire songs and/or requires I be in just the right mood for it to hit me in the right way. No, there’s no reason to spend any more time with this than my rules say I have to, and I can’t believe enough people want to own this on vinyl that Ipecac decided to put it out, but EoDM and vinyl are two things I am clearly not the target market for.